Addison sat on the bed, the box resting in between her legs. She ran her fingers over the lid, then hesitated and recoiled, sagging into the pillow behind her. She thought about punting the box across the room, the lid flying open, and the dress spilling out all over the floor. What will happen if I touch it again? Will it be different this time? She clutched the sides of the box, setting it down on the floor beside her. Maybe tomorrow, while Luke worked in a different area of the house, she’d be brave enough to try again.
Sleep came minutes later, relieving her of the exhaustion she had felt the night before. The hours ticked by in silence, until the clock on her bedside table struck four. A frigid air stirred her from sleep. She reached down, tugging on the covers, but bringing them up past her chin made no difference; the temperature in the room had plummeted so that she felt the chill of her breath resting on her cheeks.
Her eyes flashed open. A faint light, in the shape of a misty, white figure, faded in and out. It was soft at first, offering a pale illumination to the room. Steam from her breath floated into the open air and then dissipated in front of her as she continued to breathe in and out. She was in too much shock to notice. The shape shifted inside the light like a baby animal struggling to break free from the hardened shell that confined it.
Addison sat straight up in bed, terror gripping her body. The light moved closer. It lingered at the edge of the bed, bobbing up and down for a few seconds before it stopped. Long, skeletal fingers punctured a hole in the light, reaching out and gently wrapping bony digits around the bed’s iron railing. Addison’s screams echoed throughout the house as the light separated, and from it, a silhouette emerged—the same sad, scared young woman Addison had seen hunched in the corner in her vision the day before. The woman wore the same pleated dress, except this time, a large portion of it was stained with blood. The blood on the dress was dry, like it had been stuck there for years, fusing together with the fabric surrounding it.
The woman stared at Addison, never blinking, the look on her spectral face a mixture of heartbreak and longing. She didn’t speak. She just hovered there as if waiting for something. But what? Addison had never interacted with anyone in her visions before. When she’d called out to the Natalie of the future, her cries went unheard. The woman was from the past, but appeared before Addison in the present. Would it make a difference?
Filled with a newfound confidence, Addison met the ghostly gaze. The woman meant no harm. She was sure of it. She had to be. “What’s your name?”
The woman’s head slanted to the side, but she didn’t utter a word.
“Why are you here?” Addison pressured.
Again, no response.
“Did something happen to you in this house? Is that why you’ve returned?”
After failing for the third time, Addison mumbled, “Well, I guess you can’t communicate with me either.”
The woman’s mouth opened a little and she uttered two words so faint, Addison barely heard them. “Help me.”
Addison flinched, goose bumps lining the length of her arms. Is this really happening? “How can I help you?”
A tear seeped from the corner of the woman’s eye. It trailed down her ashen cheek, dissolving once it was released into the air.
“Isn’t there anything else you can tell me?” Addison asked. “Please. I don’t know what to do.”
“Help me,” the woman pleaded, a second time. She released her hand from the bed post, sweeping an unstable finger through the air. Her finger steadied once it found its target and the movement stopped. Addison thought about glancing at the floor, but she didn’t have to. She knew what she’d set there hours earlier. She understood. A subtle heat burned within her, the kind that filled one’s life with meaningful purpose. She would find out everything she could about this woman: how she lived, how she died, and most importantly, who was responsible for ending her life.
The woman’s lips parted again, and Addison remained still, poised and ready, but she wouldn’t get what she was waiting for. Not this time. The glimmering light reappeared, and the woman closed her eyes, submitting herself to it. Tiny fragments chipped away at her frame, sucking her back into the light. And then she was gone.